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Darin Kinniewess and Natasha Fox, a father and a mother, were killed cycling in separate incidents in Saskatoon in 2023.

These tragedies exposed the truth about active transportation in Saskatoon — it’s not sufficiently safe and welcoming for a modern, busy city. In every city in the world, people of all means use active transport to get to school, to work, to recreation.

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But here it’s often derided as an eccentric, luxury pursuit. Some people complain about any measure to make cycling safer. The unspoken logic is that safe cycling would only attract more cyclists. That attitude needs to be put to pasture.

I’ve owned a bike shop in Saskatoon for 30 years, and I’ve spoken to thousands of people about cycling. It’s a myth that business people don’t support safe cycling. Greg Yuel owns, among other enterprises, Kreos Aviation, which operates an airport hangar.

Knowing that I advocate for cycling, Greg wrote a letter of support to me. In it he writes: “If I were a new immigrant living in Riversdale and with a job at the airport I have three transfers and a three-block walk in between one of the transfers. What if I could safely ride my bike for 30 minutes? Healthier city. Safer city.”

Abe Eazadi moved to Saskatoon from Iran 10 years ago. He has since built his business, Mike’s Hydraulics, into a manufacturing operation that sells machinery on five continents.

He wants to see cycling infrastructure built into the north end and along Millar Avenue to serve his employees (many of whom are immigrants).

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He said recently in a meeting to advance safe cycling: “If the city let me, I would build a lane along Millar myself. I would collect money from businesses and get it done easily.”

Business leaders who employ lots of people have real problems. One is hiring enough qualified people and another is getting those people from their homes to their work. These leaders have opinions of value. They don’t normally have enough time to be phoning politicians, or filling up online forums with complaints.

I am recently 60, and I realize that it is hard to resist being a grumpy old man. You have to fight it. I also realize that grumpy-old-man mode is not leadership mode. As you get older, you don’t have skin in the game.

You have a heated garage. You and your partner likely both have reliable vehicles. You are ensconced at work, or retired, and you don’t have to empathize any longer.

Recently my friend, Erin Edwards, was cycling to work. Her husband, Jeff, had their vehicle. Erin is a mother, a health care worker, a tireless community volunteer. A driver nearly killed her, and she let him know it.

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The grumpy old driver got out and actually said, “Listen, missy, you take your bicycle and get it off the road, because it doesn’t belong here.”

I would bet that Erin’s trip was as valuable, or more, than the driver’s — but he thought he had the right to intimidate her off the road. Where do you think he came by his attitude? He literally called Erin “missy.” It’s safe to say he had been killing time listening to local talk radio that has monetized his self-righteousness.

Saskatoon deserves a modern, functional and safe active transportation network. There are people who are trying to provide leadership to that end.

The issue is coming to a head now, not only because of the recent tragedies, but because e-bikes are exploding in popularity, making active transportation more feasible for more people.

It’s time to pay attention to the community leaders who suggest that we make active transportation safer to solve some of our transportation shortcomings.

These are true leaders who scoff at the cynical cycling politics that animate the grumpy old men. The shrill old voices against safe cycling need to be retired or ignored.

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Greg McKee owns the Bike Doctor store in Saskatoon’s Broadway business district.

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